Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children of compulsory school age live in households in England in receipt of universal credit with a household income after tax and before benefits of less than (a) £7,400, (b) £8,350 and (c) £8,575 a year.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In May 2022, 2.15 million children of compulsory school age lived in households in England in receipt of universal credit. 780,000 of those children lived in households with no income in May 2022.
(a) 1.07 million children of compulsory school age lived in households in England with a monthly equivalent income in May 2022 of less than £7,400 a year.
(b) 1.16 million children of compulsory school age lived in households in England with a monthly equivalent income in May 2022 of less than £8,350 a year.
(c) 1.18 million children of compulsory school age lived in households in England with a monthly equivalent income in May 2022 of less than £8,575 a year.
Notes:
1. Children of compulsory school age is defined as children who will be between the ages of 5 and 16 inclusively on 31st August 2022
2. Figures for children in households with incomes less than £X include households with no income
3. May 2022 aligns with most recently data from published Stat-Xplore figures
4. Figures rounded to nearest hundred thousand children
5. Not all UC claimants will have been receiving UC for a full year, and DWP only holds earnings information for claimants once they start a UC claim. Yearly incomes are therefore calculated by multiplying the monthly incomes in May 2022 by 12.
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has provided over £37bn of support including up to £650 in cost-of-living Payments (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) which have targeted support at around 8 million low-income households on means-tested benefits. [In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people have received a one-off disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 and pensioner households will receive a one-off payment of £300 through and as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment from November.]
For those who require additional support we have extended the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. The devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula as usual.
The Government are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Scheme by a third to £4.25 a week.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households were exempt from the two-child Universal Credit benefits cap because they (a) have a child arrangement order, (b) have been appointed as a child's guardian, (c) have a special guardianship order, (d) are entitled to Guardian's Allowance and (e) have applied successfully using form IC1 as of 14 July 2022.
Answered by David Rutley
The exceptions referenced fall under the “non-parental care” exception.
The data available does not break down to a lower level of detail.
The latest official statistics on the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children was released on 14th July and can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-and-child-tax-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2022/universal-credit-and-child-tax-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2022
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the average number of hours of unpaid labour carried out in the UK each year as part of trial shifts and (b) the potential benefits of introducing regulations on trial shifts to ensure that jobseekers are not exploited.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Department does not hold the data requested.
Existing legislation already bans unpaid work trials that are not part of a legitimate recruitment process. They are not permitted if they are simply for the financial benefit of the employer or are excessive in length.
The DWP Work Trial scheme is a key enabler to help some of our most disadvantaged claimants try work in a risk-free environment. It provides them with a job guarantee providing both they and the employer are satisfied following the trial. It removes the requirement for them to compete with other candidates giving them an opportunity to demonstrate their suitability to the employer whilst having the knowledge that if it doesn’t work out for either party there will be no effect on their current benefit entitlement with no requirement to reclaim benefits.
The requirement for the employer to guarantee that the Work Trial is linked to a genuine vacancy provides an additional safeguard to claimants.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Household Support Fund beyond March 2022 in response to forecasts that inflation will peak in April 2022.
Answered by David Rutley
The Household Support Fund covers the period 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 inclusive. Other support for those on low incomes will continue to be available after this point. For example, we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers to £4.25, helping eligible low-income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. In Scotland, similar support is provided through Best Start Foods.
We are investing over £200m a year from 2022 to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities.
The Government is providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many career coaches his Department has recruited; what assessment he has made of their effectiveness; and how their effectiveness is measured.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Since March 2020 we achieved our commitment to recruit 13,500 Work Coaches by the end of March 2021.
Our Jobcentre teams are committed to delivering a quality service to ensure all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstances. We operate a service delivery framework which sets out the service expectations for our Jobcentre network and the requirements for how they deliver their services. It provides information on why these expectations are set, and ways that Jobcentre leaders and Work Coaches should implement the expectations.
Work Coaches undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality, efficient service to all claimants. They receive on-going learning in their roles and have access to guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals. Jobcentre Team Leaders are responsible for monitoring and assuring the quality of services provided to individual claimants through a combination of observation of interviews, feedback, coaching and appraisal.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) research and (b) preparation his Department has undertaken on the impact of (i) rising energy prices, (ii) rising fuel bills, (iii) potential food shortages and (iv) the removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on families' ability to feed vulnerable children over upcoming school holidays.
Answered by David Rutley
We have not undertaken research of this kind.
The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced with the success of the vaccine rollout. With record vacancies, our focus is on helping people back into work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty.
Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.
In April this year we increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. We are also investing up to £221m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which has been expanded to every Local Authority across England. Participating children are benefitting from a range of support, including healthy and nutritious meals as well as fun and engaging activities covering the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021.
We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) research and (b) preparation his Department has undertaken on the impact of (i) rising energy prices, (ii) rising fuel bills, (iii) potential food shortages and (iv) the removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on families' ability to fund their childrens' meals while at school.
Answered by David Rutley
We have not undertaken research of this kind.
The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced with the success of the vaccine rollout. With record vacancies, our focus is on helping people back into work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty.
Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.
In April this year we increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. We are also investing up to £221m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which has been expanded to every Local Authority across England. Participating children are benefitting from a range of support, including healthy and nutritious meals as well as fun and engaging activities covering the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021.
We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason people of retirement age are ineligible for the mobility component of personal independence payment.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Government mobility support is focused on people who are disabled earlier in life; developing mobility needs in older life is a normal consequence of ageing.
You can claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) until you reach State pension age. Thereafter if you are receiving PIP you will continue to do so including the mobility component. If you have a change in circumstances where a health condition worsens after state pension age, you cannot claim the mobility component if you did not receive this previously.
A mobility component is also not provided to those who claim Attendance Allowance.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending the policy on changes in child maintenance payments to remove or reduce the 25 per cent threshold for in-year reviews that would allow the paying parent to request a review as soon as changes in their income make the existing level of payments unaffordable.
Answered by Guy Opperman
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to 4706 on 25th May.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of (a) removing or (b) reducing the 25 per cent threshold for in-year reviews for child maintenance payments that would allow the paying parent to request a review as soon as changes in their income make the existing level of payment unaffordable.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) keeps all policies and procedures under review. However, it remains the case that the 25 per cent threshold ensures that both parents can continue to budget with certainty, and therefore provide ongoing certainty for the child. Most people's income does not change to this degree over the course of one year. It also ensures that minor changes in income do not interfere with the efficiency of the child maintenance system, increasing costs for the taxpayer. A change will not be considered unless it breaches the 25 per cent threshold.